No verification process, no waiting period; it just needs a debit card number.

Financial startup Square launched a new arm of its business Tuesday that allows two parties to transfer cash between themselves using only their debit card numbers and e-mail. Square Cash may trump similar services like PayPal in ease of use in that it doesn’t require extra bank info, and transactions can happen directly via e-mail.

Competitors like PayPal have been able to handle direct debit transactions for some time, though setup is a bit more of a hassle. Users have to enter their checking account numbers and routing numbers and then verify their accounts with two small deposits, so the process can take a few days.

With Square Cash, the process begins in e-mail: users send an e-mail to the person they want to pay, cc cash@square.com, and enter the amount in the subject line. If it’s their first transaction, Square sends a second e-mail that leads the user to a screen where they enter their debit card number, expiration date, and ZIP code. Once the person on the other end gets the e-mail and fills out the same form, the transaction is completed in 1-2 days.

Linking a Square Cash account this way opens up an e-mail account to yet another kind of attack; it would be quick and simple for a hacker to drain a target’s bank account. Square effuses the importance of a good password and says that it alerts users by text of every transaction if they link their phone number; it also has a fraud-detection system in place.

Hopefully this won’t create an avalanche of phishing imitators. In the meantime, we can probably expect a side conversation to every transaction to convince the recipient that, no, this Square Cash thing is not a trick.

Casey Johnston
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston

How is this any easier than sending money via google wallet or gmail (which does authenticate you multiple times and for which all of us are using two-factor)?

Google lets you transfer from debit or credit without verifying bank accounts. However, transferring from bank account is completely free, up to 50K/day or something really high like that. I strongly prefer it to popmoney, which I used with my previous bank.

i'm not saying that this is going to be the service, but anything that can make cash payments/exchanges secure, quick and easy and, most importantly, take over from PayPal is going to be good! what an absolute piss take PayPal is! it seems to think it is a bank, as and when it feels like it, but not a bank when any of the rules may kick in. the main thing any new service has to not be able to do is just block an account because it feels like it!!

Linking a Square Cash account this way opens up an e-mail account to yet another kind of attack; it would be quick and simple for a hacker to drain a target’s bank account. Square effuses the importance of a good password and says that it alerts users by text of every transaction if they link their phone number

Because we know password databases are always perfectly secured and everyone in the industry has demonstrated a grasp of basic due diligence and best practices regarding them?

I don't have enough space in this box to type fuck no in the size of font it requires to respond to this idea.

i'm not saying that this is going to be the service, but anything that can make cash payments/exchanges secure, quick and easy and, most importantly, take over from PayPal is going to be good! what an absolute piss take PayPal is! it seems to think it is a bank, as and when it feels like it, but not a bank when any of the rules may kick in. the main thing any new service has to not be able to do is just block an account because it feels like it!!

Until a competitior starts allowing an easy to integrate API for microtransactions my business is absolutely stuck in using PayPal as a processor. Even things like Stripe will not even attempt to do micro-transaction fees instead of the regular 2.9% + 30 cents. It's absurd how PayPal has a monopoly on the micro-transaction processing business

Wait, I need a debit card to use this? I'm confused, I have a debit card from my bank that I never use, and then a credit card, also from my bank, which I guess can be used in either debit or credit mode.... How does this work: if I use my bank debit card, does that money go to/come from my bank account?

Linking a Square Cash account this way opens up an e-mail account to yet another kind of attack; it would be quick and simple for a hacker to drain a target’s bank account. Square effuses the importance of a good password and says that it alerts users by text of every transaction if they link their phone number

Because we know password databases are always perfectly secured and everyone in the industry has demonstrated a grasp of basic due diligence and best practices regarding them?

I don't have enough space in this box to type fuck no in the size of font it requires to respond to this idea.

Why can't they go one step further at let you _confirm_ every transaction via SMS?

Linking a Square Cash account this way opens up an e-mail account to yet another kind of attack; it would be quick and simple for a hacker to drain a target’s bank account. Square effuses the importance of a good password and says that it alerts users by text of every transaction if they link their phone number

Because we know password databases are always perfectly secured and everyone in the industry has demonstrated a grasp of basic due diligence and best practices regarding them?

I don't have enough space in this box to type fuck no in the size of font it requires to respond to this idea.

i'm not saying that this is going to be the service, but anything that can make cash payments/exchanges secure, quick and easy and, most importantly, take over from PayPal is going to be good! what an absolute piss take PayPal is! it seems to think it is a bank, as and when it feels like it, but not a bank when any of the rules may kick in. the main thing any new service has to not be able to do is just block an account because it feels like it!!

Until a competitior starts allowing an easy to integrate API for microtransactions my business is absolutely stuck in using PayPal as a processor. Even things like Stripe will not even attempt to do micro-transaction fees instead of the regular 2.9% + 30 cents. It's absurd how PayPal has a monopoly on the micro-transaction processing business

Now if only I could get them to remove my bank account information from my account this would be great. After multiple support emails though they seem pretty sure of themselves security wise.

"Thanks for your reply. As our Seller Agreement states, we are not obligated to delete any information associated with your Square account. Rest assured, security is one of our biggest priorities at Square. All information submitted to Square by our customers is encrypted and submitted to our servers securely."

Anyone think my bank could block transactions from Square as a just-in-case scenario?

Always use a credit card for such things. Or link a CC to paypal or Square or whatever. But always a CC. Never, under any circumstances, should you use a debit card or a checking account in online transactions, unless you have a second account with a small amount of money in it just for that purpose.

Now if only I could get them to remove my bank account information from my account this would be great. After multiple support emails though they seem pretty sure of themselves security wise.

"Thanks for your reply. As our Seller Agreement states, we are not obligated to delete any information associated with your Square account. Rest assured, security is one of our biggest priorities at Square. All information submitted to Square by our customers is encrypted and submitted to our servers securely."

Anyone think my bank could block transactions from Square as a just-in-case scenario?

i'm not saying that this is going to be the service, but anything that can make cash payments/exchanges secure, quick and easy and, most importantly, take over from PayPal is going to be good! what an absolute piss take PayPal is! it seems to think it is a bank, as and when it feels like it, but not a bank when any of the rules may kick in. the main thing any new service has to not be able to do is just block an account because it feels like it!!

FWIW, PayPal *is* a bank in the EU, but not in the US. However, PayPal is still heavily regulated in the US.

It is a double-edged sword that people don't like jumping through hoops, but they want protection from fraud/scams. The more information a payment processor has on both parties, the better they can combat fraud and protect people.

The moment PayPal freezes a transaction to do an investigation, they are painted as villains when they are trying to protect people's money (or in many cases merely following the law).

If you want the wild west where it is easy to send money with little to no verification and little protection, you can have it.

If you want safe and secure, then you're going to have a more bank-like experience in regards to account set-up.

And while I have to agree with the author that setting up a PayPal account isn't always as easy as it can be, once you set up your account, sending/receiving payments is pretty quick and easy.

Always use a credit card for such things. Or link a CC to paypal or Square or whatever. But always a CC. Never, under any circumstances, should you use a debit card or a checking account in online transactions, unless you have a second account with a small amount of money in it just for that purpose.

The local branch of my bank has been encouraging creation of secondary accounts for usage such as this. They'll happily set up as many checking or savings accounts as I want - even giving me a separate debit card for each account if I so choose (only a limited number are physical cards but they'll assign numbers for hundreds of accounts if I ask).

My wife and I have set up half a dozen or so. Payments for various things come out of one of these micro accounts. The card in my wallet connects to a bigger (but not large) account. Auto transfers fill them for monthly expenses. SMS alerts when the balance is low is handy to know when one account has been hit.

All this is free if you keep $3k in combined accounts including savings.

It always amazes just how convoluted banking is in the US compared to up here in Canada.

We've been able to send money via e-mail for years, well over a decade at this point, using Interac and online banking. Of course, we've also had Interac payments at the till for over a decade now as well. In fact, we've almost eliminated paper money up here. It's very rare to see someone actually pay with physical money.

It's always a bit of culture shock when visiting the States and having to deal with real money.

It always amazes just how convoluted banking is in the US compared to up here in Canada.

We've been able to send money via e-mail for years, well over a decade at this point, using Interac and online banking. Of course, we've also had Interac payments at the till for over a decade now as well. In fact, we've almost eliminated paper money up here. It's very rare to see someone actually pay with physical money.

It's always a bit of culture shock when visiting the States and having to deal with real money.

It gives us a certain degree of privacy. Something I think people have forgotten in their rush to embrace convenience progress.

The local branch of my bank has been encouraging creation of secondary accounts for usage such as this. They'll happily set up as many checking or savings accounts as I want - even giving me a separate debit card for each account if I so choose (only a limited number are physical cards but they'll assign numbers for hundreds of accounts if I ask).

That is indeed awesome that they realize not everyone wants a CC and using your main checking account is a horrid idea (at least in the US).

However, it doesn't resolve the underlying national policy problem: Other than possibly your home owners or renters insurance, you usually have no recourse in the US if someone drains your checking or savings account. Maybe your bank will have some additional protections, but usually not.

I don't even use my debit card in stores anymore. It exists for one reason and one reason only: to get cash from my bank's ATMs. Other than that, it simply is not used (and I don't use cash that often either). With my CC, I get several layers of protection that simply don't exist on most bank's debit cards.